Update by user Nov 07

Transamerica finally transferred my money to Wealthfront, as I had requested. However, it took way too long, and Transamerica took a huge amount of my money to pay for the transfer. Transamerica is not a company I will ever do business with again.

Original review posted by user May 29

Recently, I spoke with a Transamerica customer service representative, a man whose name I do not have, about taking a withdrawal from the 403(b) account I have with the financial institution, and transferring my money from Transamerica to a Wealthfront IRA I intended to set up.

He told me that I should apply for a withdrawal first, and then send them a request to transfer the remainder of my money into the IRA. That means that I am going to pay Transamerica two transaction fees, of $25.00, mind you. He sent me the forms I needed to complete both transactions. Also, it is important to understand that Transamerica does nothing quickly. They require all requests to be faxed to the company, refusing to set up a secure online mechanism for such communications. And finally, I am 63, so I am totally within my rights per the IRS to start to draw down on my retirement accounts, and I face no early withdrawal penalties.

However, I never heard anything from Transamerica about the request I sent in on May 24, in which I requested a draw of $10,000 from my account.

Today, I called Transamerica to make sure everything went through, and I found out that the man with whom I spoke last week lied to me, and sent me the wrong form. So my request has simply been ignored, and Transamerica didn't even try to contact me about the issue.

So, I contacted a person who works in HR for my former employer, and I filed a complaint with EBSA, naming my former employer, as EBSA requires.

Bottom line is that company plan administrators are not holding Transamerica responsible for its bad customer service and its obviously intentional attempts to make accessing one's retirement funds difficult. I rather doubt that EBSA will do much to hold the company responsible either. The only way to force Transamerica to treat customers well is to simply boycott the company. No corporation in the US should be doing business with Transamerica Retirement Services, period.

Preferred solution: I want my money transferred to me, immediately, per my original request; and I want Transamerica to get a knowledgeable person on the phone with me, today, to help me get my account closed and the funds transferred to my IRA with Wealthfront..

I didn't like:
Transamerica worked at making it difficult to access my account, Representatives gave me bad and inaccurate information and forms, Fees and charges are outrageously high.

Update: After I got a representative from the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration on the line to speak with the "customer service" person from Transamerica, all of the sudden I got the information I needed, and my money has now been transferred to my new broker, Wealthfront, where I intend to invest the money in an ETF that is managed according to my appetite for risk, and where I will be charged only a fraction of what I was paying Transamerica. My experience with Transamerica over this past year has taught me that it is a company with which I should never do business again.

In my opinion, it is a financial institution that is run with the sole purpose of parting fools from their money. I decided to no longer be a fool.However, in all fairness, I must now report that Transamerica is no longer holding my retirement account funds hostage. They took their transfer fee, and they marked the value of my account down because tRump and Italy caused the markets to tank yesterday; but I should be able to actually lay my hands on my money, soon.I am extremely grateful to the lady from EBSA with whom I worked yesterday. Oh, and you should all know that it took me over five hours to get this handled yesterday.

But it is now handled. The only thing I have to say to anyone at Transamerica now is "Bye Felicia!"

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FloweryAkbash

FloweryAkbashJun 01#1491779

Dear Anonymous,Please, consider taking the time and effort to move your money from your Transamerica account, into an IRA with an index fund. You'll spend barely a fraction of what you are paying Transamerica, and odds are you will have much better control over your money. I agree, Transamerica is not a good choice for retirement investing, at all, ever.Be well, and here's hoping you can enjoy your retirement.

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Anonymous

AnonymousMay 31#1491098

Thier fees are ridicules,40 plus for a 1000 ,401k,this month alone cost me 50,doesn't sound like much,but that's why people like me.fix income,disable,can never win,this company is a prime example,with drew MY money when done with me cost me 300 to get 1100.00,which leaves net of 800.

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